Jalandhar along with Multan
is the oldest surviving city of the Trigarta Empire(Punjab region)of
Katoch Rulers, with reference in history as far back as A.D. 100.[2] The Jalandhar Doab ( the region surrounding the city between Beas and Sutlej rivers) also marked the eastern most territory of the empire of Alexander the Great.
He erected giant altars in this area to mark the eastern most extent of
his empire and also founded a city named Alexandria in the vicinity and
left many Macedonian veterans there.

In the 7th Century, when the famous Chinese traveller and pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited India during the reign of Harsha Vardhana,
the Kingdom of Jalandhara or Trigartta was under the rule of Raja Utito
(whom Alexender Cunningham identifies with the Rajput Raja Attar Chand
of the Katoch
dynasty). The kingdom was said to have extended 167 miles (269 km) from
east to west and 133 miles (214 km) from north to south, thus including
the hill states of Chamba, Mandi and Suket (Himachal Pradesh) and
Satadru or Sirhind in the plains. The city proper of Jalandhar was,
when visited by Hiuen Tsiang, a large city, miles in circuit, and
functioned as the capital of a Rajput kingdom.[3]
Raja Utito was a tributary of Harsh Vardhana. The Rajput Rajas appear
to have continued to rule over the country right up to the 12th
century, with occasional interruptions, but their capital was Jalandhar
and Kangra formed an important stronghold.

According to the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien, who traveled India between 399 and 411 C.E., there were a great many Viharas of Buddhism in India. In the Jalandhar Doab,
there were as many as 50 Viharas of Buddhism. The Buddhist religion was
adopted by a large number of people. As per some historians and
scholars the fourth Buddhist Council out of total six Buddhist Councils
took place in Jalandhar in the first century AD during the reign of
King Kanishka. The fourth council of Mahayana Buddhism took place here, and placed Buddha as a God at the council[4].

Jalandhar became the seat of Nath movement from 8th to 10th century AD, one of its greatest saint was Jalandhar Nath, whose samadhi later became the site of the existing shrine of Imam Nasir-ud-din Chishti in the fifteenth century [5].
From the later half of the tenth century up to AD 1019, the district
was included in the Shahi Kingdom of the Punjab and Jalandhar was an
important city in the region. In about 1188 it fell to the control of
Ibrahim Shah of Ghor.[2] Under the Mughals Jalandhar was the capital of a sarkar.[3]

In 1750 AD Maharaja Ghamand Chand of the Katoch dynasty was made the (first ever Rajput) Nizam of Jalandhar by the Durranis.
Many Rajputs lived in and around the surrounding areas of Jalandhar
before the partition in 1947. With the partition of the country, many
like the Rawal Rajputs went to settle in the Pakistan side of the
Punjab, whilst some went to other countries.

Jalandhar was burnt by the Sikhs in 1757 and captured by the Faizullahpuria confederacy in 1766. Ranjit Singh annexed it in 1811, and in 1846 Jalandhar became the headquarters of the territory acquired by the British after the first First Anglo-Sikh Wars.[3]

During British rule
Jalandhar became the headquarters, of the Division and District of the
same name. According to the 1901 census, the population of the town was
67,535 of whom 14,715 were Hindus, 40,081 Muslim, 901 Sikhs, and 1,543
Christians.[3]

The city has a humid subtropical climate with cool summers and hot
winters. Summers last from April To June and winters from November to
February. Temperatures in summer vary from average highs of around 48
degrees Celsius to average lows of around 25 degrees Celsius. Winter
temperatures vary from highs of 19 degrees Celsius to lows of -5
degrees Celsius. The climate is on the whole dry except during the
brief south-west monsoon season during July-August. The average annual
rainfall is about 70 cm.

Jalandhar is the world's biggest manufacturer of leather tool pouches and aprons with major American and European customers buying from factories in Jalandhar.

Jalandhar was a hub of the Gandhi government's green revolution of India in early 60s. Dr. Dilbag Singh Athwal,
world renowned scientist in plant breeding, developed India's first
high yield wheat KALYAN. The wheat he name afer his native village Kalyanpur
6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of city of Jalandhar. Later Dr. Athwal
headed International Rice Research Institute, International
Agricultural Development Service etc. Dr. Athwal took early retirement
from his position as senior vice president Rockefeller Institute. The village Kalyanpur (now part of Jalandhar city) have produced prominent scientist including Dr. Raghbir Singh, Dr. Rajbir Kaur, Dr. Iqbal Singh Athwal.

Ja Jalandhar is also quite known for its electrical goods industry.
Manufacturers like Standard Switchgears and Apex Electricals, located
in Jalandhar. International sports market is situated in jalandhar.

The first language of most people in the city is Punjabi. The world Punjabi meet in 2007 was held in Jalandhar, and attendees noted the Punjabi language was losing its viability[7].
However, many in the Punjab exhibit linguistic pride, and some scholars
have opined that Punjabi may actually be gaining popularity as an
indigenous medium of decolonization[8]. Since English is taught in Jalandhar schools from the first grade, it has been gaining in popularity in the city as well, and there has been an explosion in English language education in the state[9]. The Hindi language has also gained favor among businessmen[10], and has generally been the language of Punjabi Hindus, who claim Hindi as their mother tongue[11]

According to the 1991 census, the predominant religions of Jalandhar city are Hinduism (54.54%) and Sikhism (45.46%).Other religions make up around 2.17% of the population.

The city is the media hub of the region having the regional
headquarters of Newspapers, National Television and Radio stations.
Leading dailies of the country such as: Ajit, Akali Patrika, Amar
Ujala, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar and Punjab Kesri are published from Jalandhar.

The DAV College Jalandhar, a college of Arts, Science and Commerce,
has been in operation since its 1918 founding. It is distinguished as
the largest in its region and the first four-star college by the
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)(2001).[13] Notable graduates have included Har Gobind Khorana, Jagjit Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, and Hans Raj Hans.[13]

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
(erstwhile Regional Engineering College) is the eighteenth NIT of the
country. Government run, it has been conferred the title of being an
Institute of National Importance. It was launched in 1987.[14]

DAV Institute of Engineering & Technology (DAVIET) Jalandhar has been in operation since 2001.[15] It is distinguished as the largest educational organization in the country that is not government-run.[15]
The institute offers B. Tech program in six disciplines of Engineering
namely Electronics & Communication Engineering, Computer Science
Engineering, Information Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical
Engineering and Civil Engineering along with research programs leading
to M.Tech. The Institute has recently started MBA program.

Mr. IC Goloknath fought the fundamental right for land against the
government in 1970 in a landmark watershed case which reached the
supreme court.

Grand Ayatollah Bashir Najafi al-Jalandhari. One of the few grand ayatollahs of the Iraqi Shias, who might replace Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, should he pass away, as the leader of the Shiite world and the dean of the learning center of Najaf.